The PG Cooper List Thread: Gamer Days

Don’t be silly. It’s obviously Halo 5.

3. Horizon: Zero Dawn



Open world games have existed for at least twenty years, but they really exploded in the last generation. Possibly to a detriment, as companies like Ubisoft perfected a formula for cranking out open worlds annually. Still, there have been triumphs and for my money, Horizon: Zero Dawn is the best open world game of the generation. It isn't the biggest or most densely layered with stuff (that's probably The Witcher III), it isn't the most graphically impressive (that's probably Red Dead Redemption II), and it isn't really all that unique. All the open world stables - bandit camps, secret items, climbable towers that unlock more of the map, secret bases, etc. But what makes Horizon's open world so fun to play is not the hyperbolic ambitions that get flaunted at E3s, it's restraint. Instead of having dozens of bandit camps and towers and bases to complete, it has about 4 or 5 of each, meaning you never get sick of them and they each have their own flavour. Instead of a magnum dong of a map that you end up fast-travelling through most of, the world is relatively small, more dense with interactivity, and actually fun to explore (to the point that full fast-travel doesn't become available a decent way through). Most of the combat is built around more primitive weapons, namely a bow and arrow, being used against robotic dinosaurs and doing so is unbelievably fun, as you study robot walking roots, weakness, and strategize the most efficient way take the beasts done. It's incredibly rewarding, especially as your abilities expand and more enemy types are added to the combat stew. And as silly as "robot dinosaurs" might sound, the story which emerges is actually a really strong piece of science-fiction which is seamlessly woven with the player character, Alloy proving one of the strongest new videogame heroes of the generation. Maybe the strongest.


2. DOOM Eternal



I went back and forth on what DOOM game to put in this list. The 2016 DOOM reboot deserves a ton of credit for reviving a dormant franchise to once again be the peak first-person shooter on the market and there is a purity to that game that Eternal lacks. So quick is the sequel to revel in its own awesomeness that it ends up being less cool than its more blunt predecessor. However, I still had to give Eternal the edge, and it comes down to the gameplay. Eternal has much more varied levels, more visually distinct enemies, as well as some new enemy types (including mini-bosses!) which do a lot to shake up combat. But the real clencher is the shooting. 2016 was a frantic affair which emphasized non-stop movement and juggling multiple enemy types in ever elaborate arenas and Eternal takes that framework and ups the pressure. Ammo capacity is far more limited, forcing you to specialize which weapons you use for certain enemies and always think about how you want to use your chainsaw to restock while also considering which hard counters work best for your opponents. The options can be overwhelming. A dozen guns, frag grenades, freeze grenades, blood punch, chainsaw, flame thrower, sword, and a bloody horde of demons coming to rip your face off. It's easy to get overwhelmed, but learn the systems and it makes the power fantasy all the sweeter because it is earned. This really is the thinking man's big dumb fps and while I get why it's a bit less accessible than 2016, I really do think it's one of the best shooters ever made. Rip and tear until it is done.


1. Bloodborne









Easy choice. This is probably my favourite videogame of all time. Which is interesting when I consider how apprehensive I was to just play the damn thing. I had never played Dark Souls before and From Software's reputation as "those guys who make the 'You Died' games" intimidated me. But after all the acclaim and on sale for $20 (including the DLC), I thought it worth giving Bloodborne a shot. What followed was a personal journey from "this is really cool but I keep getting my ass kicked" to "I cannot stop playing this game and reading every scrap of lore I can get my hands on". I honestly can't think of any other game that instilled such a frenzied obsession in me. I've played it over and over again, even long after getting the platinum trophy after braving the chalice dungeons and hunting down Queen Yharnam. Frankly I'm so immersed in Bloodborne I don't know if I can adequately explain why I love it so much. The combat is a pretty massive part, From Software iterating on the weighty-stamina based fights of Dark Souls while removing shields, pushing the player into a more offensive style that encourages aggression. And that style is bloody satisfying, especially as the paired down weapons list allows for far greater versatility between styles. Frankly any of the right-handed weapons are perfectly viable as a primary choice. Whether squaring off against frightfully imposing bosses or the regular enemies throughout a level, the fights never get old. Then of course there's the world itself, dripping with atmosphere as the story shifts from Victorian Gothic into Lovecraftian cosmic nightmares. It's not just the aesthetic though, it's the details. I've referred to lore in a couple of these entries, but no game's backstory fascinates me like Bloodborne's, tiny details strewn throughout, slowly building a tragic and layered history with some fantastic side characters.

The game is certainly not perfect. Making healing items a finite resource basically insures farming when you're stuck on a boss, Arcane and Bloodtinge builds are not especially viable, and for all the weapons the game gives you, the best strategy in any one playthrough is usually just to pick one or two mains. But Bloodborne is so exceptionally good in so many areas that I really don't care. It gave me a new love to be insufferably passionate about, turned me into a huge From Software fan (had I not limited the games per developer here Dark Souls III and possibly II would have also made the list), and generally reignited my enthusiasm for games as a medium for storytelling. Because Bloodborne is very much a game which tells its story through gameplay. And killing monsters is fun as shit.

It was almost my number two. But DOOM's my boy.

Were I to quickly make an unranked top ten of the generation it would probably be:

Assassin's Creed: Origins (PS4)
Bloodborne (PS4)
God of War (PS4)
Hades (PC)
Hitman (PS4)
Last of Us Part II (PS4)
Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Red Dead Redemption II (PS4)
Spider-Man (PS4)
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

I just looked it up and it looks like Horizon 2 will be on PS4, so it looks like I'll be holding off on a PS5 longer than expected.

I want to buy a Switch anyway. I need to play the new Mario games.

I think Hitman is a very good game, but it's one that I find it waring my patience down. It requires a lot of knowing where to be, attention to detail, and retrying certain methods and I found myself being tuckered out on it after one mission per day.

Part of this has to do with me being very fumbley with controls in general. Like, I'd be in the middle of a mission and I'd absent mindedly hit the wrong button and accidentally pulling my gun. Next thing I know everyone is screaming at me and I'm getting shot at and then suddenly I have to do the whole mission all over again. It's a very perfectionist game.

I'll eventually play Last of Us 2. Probably should finish Last of Us 1 first.

That first modern Hitman game came out episodically, which was kind of perfect because you could play and replay each mission as they came out finding every single unique way to complete each mission.